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November 25, 2013

beat distraction with Pomodore method

When I first started using Twitter years ago, I realized that it took more time than it should and actually became a problem, as if I didn't already have tons of other means of distraction.

So I found an interesting solution which included Twitter, too. I started twitting and announcing the world that I would completely devote myself to the project at hand for the next one full hour and won't allow anything to distract me. And it pretty much worked.

One hour undistracted working time turned out to be too idealistic, and almost impossible to achieve. And this time, no it was not me, it was the world outside. Well, one hour is actually a very long time and it is very likely that someone will come and ask you something - especially if you've just announced that you'll be completely working.

So I searched some online tools to help me, and I think I found one.

Enter the Pomodoro method.

It is basically the same method but with a shorter interval, and it comes up with a helpful tool, too, that's of course, if you're using Chrome browser. Pomodoro method assumes that a person's average focus time is 25 minutes. So, you hit the button and it counts down from 25 minutes. When your time is up, you hit the short break button and give a small break of 5 minutes. Then, you work for another 25 minutes and then give a long break. The recommended time for the long break is 15 minutes but you can adjust it as you like.

Now of course, this is not a miracle soulution and it depends on your own will to succeed. And of course, you don't need a browser tool to start a stopwatch, but it is fun to use it. The only downside of this method is that, 25 minutes is actually too short for me. It is short because I really can't do much of a work in 25 minutes and I usually need more time to feel that I'm doing just fine. So I usually keep working for a little more time when my 25 minutes are finished. So I wish I could've adjusted all the time intervals for my needs.